Technological Field
The described technology is generally related to the field semiconductor microchip manufacturing, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for the localized tuning of a within-wafer thickness profile used in advanced nodes of semiconductor process.
Description of the Related Technology
Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) was invented by IBM in 1980s with the purpose of meeting the requirements of shrinking depth of focus in lithography patterning and providing global flat surface to enable multiple stacking metal layer interconnections. One objective of the CMP process is to totally or partially remove the unwanted pre-deposited film, and meanwhile it can be critical to achieve the within-wafer remaining thickness uniformity criteria with minimum yield-reducing defects like scratches, corrosions and particle residues. Kathleen Perry disclosed the CMP technique and its rapid growth in the article “Chemical Mechanical Polishing: The Impact of a New Technology on an Industry” collected by 1998 Symposium on VLSI Technology Digest of Technical Papers. This article, and any other references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.